Prayers for Bobby - Leroy Aarons [113]
(If you are interested in applying for or contributing to the Bobby Griffith Memorial Scholarship, write:
Bay Area Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators
P.O. Box 30482
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
The Bobby Griffith $500 scholarships are awarded annually to one or more Contra Costa County high school seniors who demonstrate a commitment to equality for all people, including gays and lesbians. BANGLE is a nonprofit organization, and contributions are tax deductible.
About the Author
LEROY AARONS, an award-winning journalist and playwright, was a national correspondent for The Washington Post and executive editor of The Oakland Tribune. He is the founder and past president of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
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ACCLAIM FOR PRAYERS FOR BOBBY
“…Portrays with heartrending poignancy an American tragedy in which an anguished mother found atonement through outer-directed love and the rebuilding of private faith. [A] stellar, crucially significant narrative….”
—Publishers Weekly
“Particularly effective in drawing connections between adolescent suicide and the anguished struggle that gay teenagers may undergo as they begin to realize and acknowledge their homosexuality. Urging parents to understand and accept rather than reject and harangue, Mrs. Griffith speaks, through Mr. Aarons, with clarity and compassion.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A passionate, gripping book…so raw with pain and intense love that it is difficult to read without tears and at the same time, nearly impossible to put down.”
—Marin Independent Journal
“[Aarons] has the newspaperman’s gift for letting the narrative tell itself—his sparse prose compounds the jolt of the story. This book will become an instant classic. And it will save lives of countless young people….”
—The Advocate
“Aarons masterfully traces Bobby’s short life in this account of a young man with seemingly everything to live for who took his own life in reaction to the homophobia of his family in particular and society in general. Recommended for all library types.”
—Library Journal
“Painful and personal…. Excerpts from a diary [Bobby] kept, family photos, and letters written by Mary to her dead son make the book intense reading.”
—Booklist
“Prayers for Bobby is a powerful, contemporary telling of what has traditionally been called the ‘Pascal Mystery,’ that is, the story of a life, death, and resurrection. This is a story of authentic spirituality in action and of the real price paid by real families for toxic religion.”
—Creation Spirituality
“Written with clarity and great insight, Prayers for Bobby [is] a contemporary American tragedy…. A must read for all parents, educators, and clergy who believe that life is precious and God-given to every human being.”
—Paulette Goodman, former national president of P-FLAG
“Prayers for Bobby renews my passion to demonstrate to the church and society that gay love is created, inspired, and blessed by God, so that no other gay child is spiritually abused.”
—Chris Glaser, M. Div., author of The Word Is Out: The Bible Reclaimed for Lesbians and Gay Men
“Prayers for Bobby…is far more than a cautionary tale; it is also a story of a tragedy that marks one mother’s journey to redemption. This is a book that is every parent’s business, and, in fact, should be read by anyone who is interested in caring for children.”
—Robb Forman Dew, author of The Family Heart
“I hope this book will help religious people everywhere face their complicity in the evil way gay and lesbian children have been treated. Perhaps then the religious world can repent, apologize, and welcome all our children into the love of God that we proclaim.”
—The Rt. Rev. John S. Spong, Bishop of Newark and author of Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism
“This book about how the Griffith family’s love contributed to the suicide of their son